Always Hope
by evergloweyes
Summary: Suddenly, they weren’t talking about him and Lindsey anymore. They were talking about their own relationship. A relationship that ended abruptly and without much warning. They loved each other so much,Brooke had just loved him enough to let him go. BL.


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**Author's Note: This is just a short little drabble of something I would have liked to see in the season finale. It's mostly dialogue and it's not that well planned out, I just needed to get it out of my head. It's set in between the "I love you's" at Brooke's house and Lucas's phone call to one of the girls at the airport. I wrote it with the idea in my head that Lucas was either going to call Lindsey and be serious or call Brooke and be joking about the marriage proposal.**

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She was still in the same spot on the couch that he had left her when he phone rang. She looked down at her iPhone, hoping to hear from the adoption agency, but saw Lucas's name and picture on her screen. The picture that accompanied his name brought a smile to her face; it was one of him after his first game coaching the Ravens.

"Hey, Luke"

"Hi, Brooke"

"Is everything okay? You just left here a little while ago."

"Yeah, I guess everything's okay. I'm just at home right now. But I need to talk to you about something. I should have brought it up while I was still at your house, but I don't know…it wasn't the right time. It still probably isn't…" his voice trailed off.

"You can tell me anything at any time, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I just don't want to burden you."

"Listen to me, Lucas Scott. You're one of my best friends and these past few weeks you've been there for me without question. Let me be there for you." He smiled at her words. It reminded him of their senior year of high school after Keith was shot. She was there for him at every moment of every day.

"Peyton painted a comet and some lyrics on the Rivercourt." His voice was quick and shaky and he let out a sigh after saying it.

Brooke was silent a minute before chuckling, "are you sure I'm the one you should be talking to about this?"

"You're the only one I can talk to about this, Brooke. You're the only person who hasn't tried to convince me that I'm still in love with Peyton. You've just let me be and make my own decisions."

"I figured you didn't really need that from me, considering our history and all."

"Thank you, Brooke." He paused for a moment, just listening to her slow and steady breathing. "You don't seem surprised about the Rivercourt."

"I'm not. It's so typically Peyton. Plus, Haley called me before you came over and told me about it."

"Oh." His reply was simple. They were both quiet for a few seconds before Brooke spoke up again.

"For someone who wrote a whole book about a comet, who everyone thinks is obviously Peyton, you don't exactly seem happy that she went to all that trouble."

"It's not what I wanted, Brooke. Honestly, right now, I am still in love with Lindsey. I said 'I do'. I was prepared to marry her. She was the one who left me." Of all the emotions Brooke had expected to hear from him, anger wasn't one of them. But he was angry. Angry at Lindsey, angry at Peyton, angry at Haley and everyone else who tried to convince him that he truly loved Peyton.

"Sounds like she pulled a classic Brooke Davis move. Giving you up so you could be happy with Peyton." She shouldn't have said it. She knew that, because as soon as she said it tears began to fill her eyes.

"But why did she do that? Why couldn't she just have let me make up my own mind? Why did she have to make up my mind for me? We could have stayed together and been happy." Something had shifted in his voice.

Suddenly, they weren't talking about him and Lindsey anymore. They were talking about their own relationship. A relationship that ended abruptly and without much warning. When they broke up it was painful for both of them. They loved each other so much, Brooke had just loved him enough to let him go.

"Maybe she thought you deserved a chance with Peyton, a chance to see if you were meant to be. Maybe she was petrified of getting hurt. Or maybe she was just scared that she would never be good enough for you."

Tears were streaming down her face. She was so sick of crying today. She had cried in Lucas's arms over Angie and now here she was, crying alone on the phone with Lucas about a relationship that had been over for five years.

"Brooke, I was the one who wasn't good enough for you back then. I made so many mistakes, but I loved you. I know I never let you in, but you changed my world, Brooke Davis. If you ask me, it sounds like the comet is more a metaphor for you than Peyton."

"Luke, I –"

"No. Just listen to me for a minute. When I wrote that book, honestly, it was just a story. Pure fiction. I wasn't thinking about anyone in particular when I wrote it. I know everyone thinks that the comet is Peyton, but looking back on it now, it's you. I was describing the affect you had on me after Keith's death. I don't know what I would have done without you. I know that it ultimately broke our relationship, but you were guiding me back then. You brought me direction, beauty and meaning."

"What did the lyrics say?"

"Brooke, what –"

"You said that she painted a comet and some lyrics. What did they say?"

"They said 'I will always love you'"

_I love you Lucas and I probably always will._

She chuckled again, closing her eyes at the memory. "Sounds familiar."

"Try really familiar. Lindsey said something along those lines before she left. It's crazy to think that three girls have all said that to me."

"Peyton means it. She really does love you."

"What if it's only the idea of me she loves? I went over there before to try and let her down gently, to tell her that I didn't love her anymore. That I couldn't even think about things with her when I was still in love with Lindsey. But all she said was that it was her dream to marry me."

"Not all dreams come true."

"When is she going to realize that, though?"

"It's going to take her a while, but she'll realize it. Trust me, she just needs time. Deep down, Peyton thinks that she needs you in her life romantically. She doesn't, she just has herself convinced that she does. She will be okay, I know her. But you should know that even when she moves on, she is still always going to love you. Lindsey too."

"What about you?"

"I'm never going to love another guy as much as I love you."

"Love or loved?"

She took a deep breath before answering, "love."

"I'm always going to be in love with you too, Brooke Davis" he paused for a moment, thinking of how to phrase his next question, "do you think we missed our chance at happiness together?"

"I think it's too early to tell. You need to get your head cleared and get over Lindsey. Peyton needs to get over you and you need to fully let her go and I…I need to get over losing Angie. But, I really should go, Lucas. The adoption agency is going to call me at some point and I should keep the line open."

"Thanks for the talk."

"Anytime."

"Brooke, before you go…there's still hope for us at some point, right?"

"There's always hope." With that she disconnected the call and Lucas Scott was left with a smile on his face.


End file.
